The Good Life – September-October 2018

UNITING THE COMMUNITY
Veteran, Musician, Advocate: Tom Hill
WRITTEN BY: BRITTNEY GOODMAN
PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
Tom Hill, Director of Community Impact for United Way
of Cass-Clay (UWCC) is a military veteran and musician
who is living his calling of helping others and improving
our community.
Hill grew up in Bismarck, where his parents still reside in
his childhood home.
After high school, in 2000, Hill joined the Army, with
basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri: “I joined
the Army because I wanted to be a part of something
bigger than me. I wanted adventure, travel and to have
experiences I would otherwise not be able to have. I also
liked the idea of duty and service.”
Hill served as a combat engineer and his first duty
station was at Camp Howze, a couple of miles south
of the demilitarized zone in South Korea.
Hill joined the North Dakota National Guard
in early 2003. As part of a humanitarian
peacekeeping mission in Bosnia from July
2003 – April 2004, he monitored the clearing
of minefields to ensure the application of
humanitarian standards so that the cleared
areas would be safe for civilian use.
“One of the coolest experiences in my life
was with the Bosnian minefields. This
minefield was as large as a football field,
taped off into lanes. The people clearing
it used a yardstick and went centimeter
by centimeter to test for mines. We
stood with them. After one minefield
was cleared, I witnessed a farmer
bringing his sheep onto the cleared,
former minefield. Something that
was created in hate and anger and
now, a decade later, it is a farm. It
was like the minefield was never
there. The farmer had an occupation
again.” He added, “Being able to see
that and know I was a part of doing
something good gave me a sense
of pride.”
14 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com